Against rusty Palmer, a chance to rebound

Green Bay -- This has not been a picture-perfect stretch for Green Bay's defense. Four of the team's last six opponents have all mounted second-half rallies. Each time, the Packers hung on. Turnovers continue to be their saving grace.

Still, the defense is walking a tightrope. As Tom Silverstein wrote this week, this may be the way Green Bay's defense must operate the long haul.

This week offers a chance to bounce back, a chance to see if these turnovers will continue. The Packers face a quarterback with a tendency to throw the ball into crowds. If the secondary is indeed a playmaking bunch -- if not sound in coverage -- it'll make Carson Palmer pay on Sunday. On a pair of conference calls Wednesday, both Palmer and his coach, Hue Jackson, discussed how difficult it has been for the new signal-caller to gain chemistry with his receivers.

“Every quarterback now and then throws the ball into a crowd," Jackson said. "Aaron (Rodgers) would throw one in a crowd, too. I think it happens. It’s unfortunate sometimes when it does. But again, that comes from trust. Normally, a guy that does that has had guys where he could throw it in a crowd. He trusts guys to make plays. Until you know your guys, can you make those kind of decisions or take those kind of chances? I think he’s growing from that and we’ve gotten better at it.”

Those receivers haven't been able to stay healthy. Denarius Moore and Jacoby Ford are still sidelined. This may be the weakest receiving corps Palmer has worked with in his nine-year career.

Learning how his receivers run routes against certain coverages -- establishing timing -- hasn't been easy. Palmer has eight touchdowns, nine interceptions and is completing just 56 percent of his passes. He has been particularly rusty in the fourth quarter...when Green Bay (23 total interceptions, first in NFL) has typically come up with a turnover.

Among 21 AFC quarterbacks, Palmer ranks 19th in fourth-quarter passing with a 57.3 passer rating. He has thrown five picks on 57 pass attempts.

“I think it’s been learning the guys," Jackson said. "When you’re not around guys, you’re not sure how they come out of breaks or how they see things. That takes a little time. But I think we’re getting closer to him understanding that than we are to him not understanding that.”

Outside linebacker Clay Matthews said it'd be tough for any quarterback to join a team midway through the season and have an "immediate impact." Watching the film, he believes Palmer is starting to gel with his young, speedy receivers.

"He's making the plays he needs to," Matthews said. "We know what type of quarterback he is with what he was able to do in Cincinnati for years. So we'll be ready for what he has to offer."

Despite last week's shellacking in Miami, the Raiders are tied with Denver atop the AFC West. They're in good shape. For now, Palmer's trying to weather the storm. He said the team needs to "get healthy in a hurry."

"It really hasn’t been one thing that’s been more difficult than anything else," Palmer said. "It’s just kind of been a whole bunch of stuff – studying a new playbook, new terminology, new formations. And then new guys – different route runners and different speeds and different body language at tops of routes. It’s been just kind of getting on board with everything, starting over again."

As far as the Packers are concerned, yards are not the barometer for success. Big plays are. This week would figure to be a prime opportunity.

"In a perfect world on this defense, we'd love to not give up any yards, hold them to zero points and get turnovers" Matthews said. "But that kind of seems to be the theme this year. We'd love to change that. We are making the plays when it counts and truly the stat that matters, despite being 31st in yards, is points on the board."

Journal Sentinel photo by Tom Lynn

About Tyler Dunne

Tyler Dunne covers the Green Bay Packers. He has been on the beat since 2011, winning awards with the Pro Football Writers of America and Milwaukee Press Club.